Field of the Invention
The invention lies in the printing technology field. More specifically, the invention relates to an configuration for introducing material webs or material web strands into rotary printing machines, in particular such material webs or partial webs which, before passing the angle-bar superstructure, are slit and introduced into separate conveying paths.
British patent specification GB 2 331 984 A discloses a web drawing-in device wherein web-guide bars are introduced into the conveying paths of the material web as the latter is threaded. The material web is divided up into web strands by means of a slitting device. The individual web strands are wound around the web-guide bars, with the result that they can always be displaced in one plane. Once the threading operation has been completed, it is possible for the guide bars either to be drawn out of the web path or to be pivoted out of the latter. The disadvantage with this solution is the fact that the introduction bars constitute the components which are to be provided additionally within an angle-bar superstructure and which place additional restrictions on the amount of space available, which is in short supply anyway.
European patent application EP 0 355 026 relates to an automatic web drawing-in device. According to that solution, a slitting arrangement is provided in the angle-bar superstructure of a web-processing rotary printing machine. A web-drawing cable is provided in the vicinity of the slitting arrangement. An adhesive-attachment device is provided on the cable which may be attached to one or more web strands. This takes place by suitable activation of the adhesive-attachment device for applying a supply of adhesive tape to the initial regions of the respectively newly formed sub-web section. Moving the web-drawing cable draws the one or more sub-web strands into the corresponding conveying paths in the angle-bar superstructure of the rotary printing machine.
German patent application DE 197 54 106 A1 relates to a device for, and a method of, drawing in a printing-material web. The solution according to DE 197 54 106 A1 provides for an auxiliary device for drawing in a printing-material web or printing-material sub-web produced from the printing-material web by a slitting arrangement and makes it possible to ensure a mechanical drawing-in operation by means of drawing-in devices even in the region of angle bars. For that purpose, use is made of guide bars which are only introduced along the web course during the drawing-in operation, the printing-material web wrapping around the guide bars, instead of the angle bars, during the drawing-in operation. The guide bars can be either drawn or pivoted out of the web course. It is also possible for angle bars which are mounted on one side to perform the function of the guide bars during the drawing-in operation. This solution makes use of guide means which may be designed as guide bars, as directing rollers or else as angle bars which can be pivoted at right angles to the web-running direction during the drawing-in operation. The guide means may be advanced electrically, hydraulically or pneumatically.
European patent application EP 0 673 764 A1 concerns a device for drawing in printing-material webs via angle bars. That solution proposes a device in a web-fed rotary printing machine by means of which the printing-material sub-webs produced from a single printing-material web in a slitting direction, using a cutting roller and a cutting ring, can be drawn in further. In this case, at least one of the printing-material sub-webs continues further over angle bars. The printing-material sub-web continuing further over the angle bars is drawn in by means of drawing-in tips which are fastened on lateral sheet chains. The lateral sheet chains, in addition to the movement directions which are possible in the case of a chain, can also be moved in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the rollers and run over guides arranged in a fixed manner outside the displacement and pivoting range of the angle bars. At their rear ends, the drawing-in tips each have two coverings which are located in a flexible manner one above the other and are provided with magnetic sheets which, by virtue of the magnetic attraction, firmly clamp the respective top end of the printing-material sub-web.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a device for threading material webs into the transport paths of rotary printing machines, which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices and methods of this general type and which allows webs or material sub-web strands which are produced following a slitting operation to be threaded into different conveying paths within an angle-bar superstructure of a web-processing rotary printing machine.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a configuration for introducing a material web into conveying paths of an angle-bar superstructure of a rotary printing machine, comprising:
a slitting arrangement variably positionable in an angle-bar superstructure of the rotary printing machine for selectively dividing the material web into a plurality of sub-web strands;
web drawing-in devices disposed downstream of the slitting arrangement in a web travel direction and components for attaching the material web or the material sub-web strands to the web drawing-in devices;
a mating roller disposed in the angle-bar superstructure and defining a web-running plane;
an adjustable advancement element disposed in the angle-bar superstructure for bridging a contact-pressure gap in relation to the mating roller, and configured to attach one of the material sub-web strands to an introduction element movably disposed into the web-running plane.
The advantages which can be achieved by the solution proposed according to the invention can be seen, in particular, in that arranged in the immediate vicinity of the slitting arrangement is a threading arrangement which is immediately available, if required, for a new operation of drawing a material web into the angle-bar superstructure of a rotary printing machine. Clamped on a plate assigned to a pivotable advancement element is an introduction element which, in the standby position, is already attached at its coupling point to a tongue projecting out of a guide channel. If required, the pivotably arranged advancement element may be advanced during the introduction operation by way of a rotary printing machine operating at crawling speed, with the result that the gap distance between the web-conveying plane and the introduction element still in a standby position can be bridged quickly and an adhesive attachment can be carried out reliably in the direction perpendicular to the slit between sub-webs which are to be introduced. Once the advancement movement has been executed, the introduction element advantageously continues to be guided by contact-pressure rollers, with the result that it does not have to manage on its own during the adhesive attachment to the leading end of the material-web section formed.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the introduction element is releasably retained by a clamping device above the web-running plane, in the angle-bar superstructure. That is, an introduction element, which can be attached to a material web or a material-web strand, is accommodated on a clamping device, above the web-running plane. The introduction element, which may for example be of triangular configuration, may thus already be prepared with its adhesive surface oriented in the upward direction, with the result that, if required, it can be attached quickly to the slit material sub-web strand.
In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the introduction element is partially retained on a circumference of the advancement element.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the contact-pressure gap is bounded by peripheral surfaces of the advancement element and the mating roller.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the introduction element is attached to one of the web drawing-in devices in an inactive state and movable into the web-running plane.
In accordance with again an added feature of the invention, a carrier plate with contact-pressure wheels is connected to the introduction element, and the introduction element carries an adhesive strip and, during an attachment to a material sub-web strand, is guided by the contact-pressure wheels on the carrier plate and the advancement element.
In accordance with again an additional feature of the invention, the advancement element extends substantially over half a width of the uncut material web.
In accordance with again another feature of the invention, the introduction elements, for introducing the material web or the material sub-web strands, include a coupling device.
In accordance with again a further feature of the invention, the introduction elements carry adhesive strips along their base. The strips extend in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction.
As mentioned above, the introduction element is advantageously guided around an advancement element which interacts with a rotating surface. It is possible for the advancement element to be actuated electrically or by pressure medium, be this by pneumatic or hydraulic means, in order to bridge a contact-pressure gap, and for it to be advanced onto a rotating roller of the angle-bar superstructure. This variant makes it possible for directing rollers which are already present in the angle-bar superstructure in any case, and are intended for guiding the material webs or the material sub-web strands, to be used in order to assist the adhesive-attachment operation.
The contact-pressure gap, wherein the adhesive attachment between the slit sub-web and the introduction element takes place, being limited to only a few mm, is formed by those surfaces of two rollers in the angle-bar superstructure which interact with one another in the case of advancement. Of these rotating surfaces which interact with one another, one may be of stationary design and the other may be of advanceable design, there being no limitations as far as the selection of the surface diameters used is concerned, although rollers of approximately identical diameter are preferably used. In order to allow quick introduction of the slit sub-web strand into the corresponding conveying path within the angle-bar superstructure, the introduction element, while still in the standby position in the angle-bar superstructure, is already attached at its coupling point to a tongue projecting out of the guide channel, with the result that following activation of the advancement element, i.e. the advancement onto the slit material sub-web which is to be conveyed, the latter can be gripped directly and threaded into its conveying path provided in the angle-bar superstructure. In a particularly straightforward configuration of the idea on which the invention is based, the preferably triangular introduction element is provided with an adhesive strip on its side which is directed toward the slit material sub-web. The contact-pressure forces occurring in the contact-pressure gap between the adhesive strip and the slit material sub-web which is to be threaded ensure that the introduction element can be attached reliably to the material sub-web which is to be threaded.
In accordance with a concomitant feature of the invention, it is possible for the advancement element, which is preferably configured in the manner of a roller, to extend over half the width of the uncut material web. This ensures that, in the case of a plurality of slitters being configured one beside the other, it is also possible for material sub-web strands of half width, xc2xc width or ⅓ width, which may be produced from an uncut material web following a slitting operation, to be introduced reliably into their respective conveying paths in the angle-bar superstructure of a web-processing rotary printing machine. According to the configuration proposed according to the invention, a slitting arrangement is assigned an additional advancement element in each case. In addition to this, it is also quite possible to provide a plurality of advancement elements, with which in each case individual conveying paths for slit material sub-web strands in the angle-bar superstructure could be provided. The arrangement proposed according to the invention for introducing and/or attaching material webs can be used in web-processing rotary printing machines, for example for jobbing and newspaper-production purposes.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in an configuration for introducing material webs into conveying paths of rotary printing machines, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.